Sweat
by bellendp
Summary: Emma figures things out. "When you meet someone who you can touch without even thinking about the sweat, don't let anything stand in the way." Emma/Will, Emma/Ken, Emma/Puck.


1.

Emma Pillsbury hates sweat. Like most things she considers unclean, the mere thought of it is enough to have her reaching for her antibacterial hand gel--touching anything, anyone, sweaty is unimaginable. Allowing herself to sweat, having sweat seep into her clothing--unthinkable.

She takes precautions.

Every morning after her shower Emma applies exactly four layers of Dove deodorant (she has sensitive skin) and then stands naked, arms outstretched, for five minutes to let it dry. She dresses with care, ensuring that she is not only neat and that her clothes match perfectly, but that she is wearing the bare minimum for the temperature. If there isn't snow on the ground, Emma will not be wearing more than a cardigan or simple jacket--she might start sweating. The air conditioning in her house and in her car are kept on high, and she never, ever, runs or rushes anywhere. Emma reapplies her deodorant four times during the school day, once when she gets home and changes into clean clothes, and another after her evening shower before bed

She buys in bulk and avoids any nerve-wracking situations.

The only times when Emma ever allows anything near her that might cause her to sweat is when Will is around. Every time he's near her, her heart starts beating a little faster, her breathes get a little shallower, and she swears she can feel a single bead of sweat breaking through her skin. She carries a handkerchief embroidered with her initials-**EP**- just in case.

She thinks if she could have Will, she wouldn't mind a little sweat. Not that he's ever really sweaty, mind you--that's probably a big part of his appeal. Sure, when Acafellas preformed she thinks he might have been sweating really hard--she couldn't be sure, with her heart pounding, ears ringing, and her own body slightly damp--but since the group disbanded he's back to coaching and teaching more than performing and rarely breaks a sweat.

Ken always seems to be sweaty.

More than the fact the he is very much Not Will, she thinks that is what put her off. Even riding his golf cart around, there always seemed to be a sheen to his face, and his palms just seemed like they were dripping. Sure, his attitude, his lack of attention to detail and wardrobe, and his love of, of all things, football, didn't help, but seeing Ken's sweaty forehead every time he tried to ask her out made her feel ill.

She goes with him to Tulip-palooz

It isn't just that she knows she can never, ever, have Will and his relatively sweat-free life, or that Ken doesn't ever make her nervous enough to perspire. For all his faults, Ken's speech touches her. She thinks maybe he would accept, if not understand, her aversion to sweat. When he picks her up he wipes his hands on his pants before opening the car door for her, and it's a start.

When they are together, it is always at Emma's place. She may be dating Ken, but she can't imagine the horrors she'd find in his apartment. She doubts she'd be able to find a place to sit, much less be comfortable taking off her clothing.

She makes Ken shower and brush his teeth before they do anything, and he's a good sport about it. She thinks he's less happy with how she kicks him out after so she can shower, change her sheets, and shower again before sleeping. They work, for a while, and she realizes how nice it is to have somebody, even if that person is sweaty, dirty Ken Tanaka. She could do this, she thinks, trying to get comfortable with the idea of her and Ken. She could. But at night after he leaves she dreams, dreams that make her sweat all over her clean sheets and long for something she can't bring herself to name.

2.

They don't last. Emma thinks they both know it isn't working when Ken starts wearing clothes with sweat stains and Emma stops inviting him in. They part amicably, though, and Emma thinks that the faculty/staff breakroom will be less awkward with them as friends than it was before she gave him a chance. Ken will presumably start mooning over someone new, and Emma thinks her light crush on Will might return, but thinks she can control her feelings this time.

She's wrong.

Ken does not start following someone else around (and this she understands because the only other single female on staff under 60 is Sue Sylvester and she pities the man that makes a play for her). Emma's crush does not return--accepting that it wouldn't happen and moving on was good for her, she thinks, even though sometimes the way Will looks at her she thinks he wishes differently. He's still married, though, and she's not that girl anymore.

Emma cannot control her feelings.

She thought it was terrible, being in love with a married man, a good man, with a baby on the way and problems and insecurities that make him vulnerable. This is a thousand times worse. Emma works herself into a sweat about it at least three times a week. She still can't name it, but she sweats.

3.

Even though Emma and Will are definitely nothing more than friends, now, she doesn't abandon Glee. She feels that she owes it to the kids, stopping by during practices to offer her support and encouragement, attending every performance, seated in the front row, cheering loudly. She ignores her dreams--how ridiculous can she be, she thinks, she's better off pretending--but she can't ignore the sweat. Before she gos to watch them she slips in the ladies room to reapply her deodorant and takes off her cardigan.

She is now applying deodorant six times during the school day.

At night, Emma can't help but remember that performance that Acafellas did for the PTA meeting. She knows it's wrong--really wrong, Sandy was so overly enthusiastic and she suspects he made all the guys wear mascara-- but the memory won't leave her.

Emma thinks that Terri might have been suspicious of her, before, and rightly so a part of her whispers. Now when they meet at Glee performances Emma offers Terri a friendly smile and doesn't look at Will much. Terri seems relieved.

The truth about Terri's baby comes out (although the phrase "shit hits the fan" makes the blood drain out of Emma's face and sweat pop up on her forehead--who would invent such a horrific phrase, she wonders--Emma thinks it fits the situation perfectly).

Will is devastated, not only by the loss of the child that never was, but by his wife's lies. He comes to her for comfort, for guidance, and she can't turn him away.

When he kisses her, she lets him. She thinks maybe she's in need of guidance, too.

4.

Rachel comes to her office mostly to vent. Emma thinks it's great how the Glee kids have come to trust her. Most of them (not all, thankfully, because she doesn't know what she'd do if _he_ were sitting there in front of her, asking for advice) come to Emma to talk about problems and frustrations in their lives.

Rachel is, unsurprisingly, upset about Finn.

Emma nods and listens sympathetically all the while wondering what Rachel sees in him. It's not just that he sweats (though between football and Glee he always seems to), but that he's so big. He towers over her, and at the same time seems so uncomfortable in his own skin. She thinks maybe Rachel is confident enough for both of them, but Emma thinks she needs someone who is a little surer of himself.

She is leaving school late one day--a student knocked over her plant in her office and she had to spend two hours cleaning it up and setting things back in their place--when she sees Sue talking to Puck.

Emma starts to sweat.

She had seen--how could she not?--Puck at the PTA meeting, singing, dancing, thrusting at Sue, but she hadn't thought it was more than a schoolboy prank. Hadn't imagined, until this moment, watching them talk, that there might be _something_.

Emma thinks she is going to be sick. Her face has gone pale and feels slightly damp.

Puck glances up, sees her, and Emma does the only thing she can do. She turns, abruptly, into the bathroom, locks herself in a stall, and takes deep breathes until the sweating stops. She is still shaking when a janitor comes in to clean the bathroom, but she excuses herself and leaves.

She doesn't sleep.

5.

He's been watching her. Emma is sure of it, the way she is sure she uses two cans of Lysol a week and a scoop and a half of OxiClean in her laundry. What she can't figure out is why--is he afraid she'll say something to Sue? To Figgins?

Emma won't say anything. Not just because she didn't see anything wrong (because she didn't, staff and faculty are certainly allowed to speak to students on school grounds, and both Puck and Sue have practice and therefore reasons to be at school late) but because she thinks that saying she suspects something from that brief encounter will expose her own forbidden thoughts.

She barely notices Will watching at her mournfully, wishing for something she can no longer give him. Even if she did feel that way, he's still married (though he's sleeping on Ken's sofa, and she almost feels bad enough about that to offer him her spare room but she knows that will only make him think that there can be something more between them and there can't).

During Glee's practice one day, Emma is sitting (halfway back on the left, in the shadows, because she doesn't want to be _looked _at), tapping her heels to the beat when Puck steps forward. He doesn't usually have solos, so she's surprised. As he belts out the words she gets chills and wonders why that is--Finn is good but she isn't sure he compares to this.

Mid-way through his part, Puck's eyes lock on hers. She's startled, because she didn't think anyone even noticed she was there, and feels slightly flustered. Her eyes bug out a little and her cheeks flush but she can't look away. She starts to sweat. He looks away and finishes the song and she slips out of the auditorium.

In the staff bathroom, Emma sits on a toilet (disinfected and covered with a seat cover, even though she's still fully dressed) and catches her breath. After a few minutes, she stands, reapplies her deodorant, straightens her clothing, and goes back to her office. She is still sweating.

6.

She's in her office working on a request for Figgins that he increase the janitorial staff (her office has not been cleaned in weeks and the table in the faculty lounge was sticky and there is only so much she can tolerate) when there is a knock on her door. She looks up and sees, of all people, Puck, halfway in her office.

"Hey Miss P, do you have a minute?" he asks.

"Yes! Yes, of course, what can I do for you?" she says brightly, too fast, wondering what this is about. She can feel her arms getting goosebumps and knows that she's about to start sweating but she can't control it because what if he asks--if he says...

He's sat down in front of her and is speaking and she can barely hear him. She forces herself to pay attention "...that a few weeks ago I turned 18, I got started a little late... anyway, I just wanted to know if that was going to affect my participation with the team and with Glee."

She forces herself to do her job. She smiles and says, "Well, I don't know about that Puck. I don't see why it should affect things since you're still a student but I'll certainly look into that for you."

He thanks her politely--and who'd have expected such courtesy from him, she thinks--and when he gets up he moves the chair back to its exact starting position. When he's at the door, he pauses and turns around.

"Oh, Miss P.? I don't know if you know, but my name is Noah...Puck is just a nickname from the guys."

"Oh. I wasn't aware of that... Noah."

He grins, a slow smile that causes her eyes to widen and her teeth to bite down on her bottom lip.

"Learn something new every day, Miss P. I'll see you around."

She sits at her desk after he disappears, hands fluttery a little because she has no idea what to do with them. By force of habit, she pumps two pumps of antibacterial hand sanitizer into her palms and rubs it in thoroughly, thinking.

She's still sitting there, staring at the empty chair, when the Will pops his head in to see if she wants to walk to lunch together. She smiles and says she'll meet him there and slips into the bathroom on the way.

7.

There's a pool at Emma's building. She doesn't use it--even though there are chemicals the idea of how many people have been in it, not to mention that children may have peed in it, is enough to give her a panic attack--but she loves sitting near it (on her own clean towels) and doing work or reading. The smell of the chlorine is very soothing to her, and she knows that's weird but she's ok with that.

She wears a bathing suit (the first time she didn't and people laughed and a child stood over her asking her why not and _dripped pool water on her_ and after that she started wearing them). She finds she likes it because, even when it is warm, she rarely sweats.

Today's bathing suit is yellow with little white polka dots. Her wide brimmed hat is white with small yellow flowers and her towel is a bright yellow. She is reading a historical romance, her guilty pleasure. She knows it's wrong; she is a strong, independent woman, a feminist, and she doesn't _need_ a muscled, protector-sort. It's just the fantasy of it all--the strong, confident man so overcome with passion for the sweet, beautiful heroine, and who is she to resist true love, but the circumstances of their meeting is tearing them apart!--well, it has her eyes glued to the pages, reading as fast as she can.

Emma doesn't even notice the pool cleaning truck pull up, or the parents herding their children up and leaving the pool area. She doesn't notice the gates being shut and the "Closed for Cleaning" signs being posted.

Emma is so wrapped up in Duncan and Philippa that she doesn't realize a thing until a shadow falls over her a deep voice drawls, "Whatcha reading, Miss P.?"

Emma freezes. She slowly glances up--a long, tanned chest, defined abs and pecs and a face in shadows. All she can think is that somehow, Duncan has found her, sitting poolside, and is ready to whisk her away to a safer time (though she'll have to bring her own cleaning products--the dirt and disease!) when his words register.

"Oh!" she cries, sitting up abruptly, "Pu-Noah. Um, hi. How are you? What--what are you doing... here?" She straightens her bathing suit and wishes she'd thought to wear a cover-up but she didn't want to sweat--good plan, Emma, she thinks, look where _that_ got you--and waits for his reply.

Noah studies her for a minute, and that slow, devastating smile spreads over his face before he cocks his head at the signs and cleaning supplies.

"I have a pool cleaning business. You live here, huh? Nice." He says it without taking his eyes off of her and she really wishes she were wearing more even though she is sweating.

"You clean! That's...well, that's just great. Um, sorry I didn't notice..." She trails off, nervous because he is_ looking_ at her, "I'll, um, I'll get out of your way. Have...a good day!" She sits up, slips her feet into white flats and starts to gather her things into her tote bag.

"You like cleaning, right?" Freezing, eyes wide, Emma nods, mute. He'd noticed? She supposes it isn't that strange--she knows she's a little bit odd but then again she's still surprised he knows her name… or at least the first letter of it. She thinks maybe he didn't, until Glee.

"You could stay. I like the work, it's...rewarding. But sometimes, cleaning... it gets a little lonely. Company'd be nice." His eyes are locked with her, serious, and she wonders what he's trying say. Emma nods, surprised. "Ok," she whispers, slipping her shoes off.

She opens her book but can't finish a page, no longer interested in Duncan with Noah in front of her. The sun is warm and the quiet noises of the water moving as he cleans is kind of peaceful--much more so than screaming children and gossiping mothers. It should be even easier to lose herself in the novel but she can't stop sneaking glances in Noah's direction.

He starts to sweat, and she thinks maybe that's ok, sweating from such laborious cleaning. For some reason it doesn't look gross and kind of greasy, the way Ken's sweat did, or out of place like on Will. For some reason, watching Noah clean, the muscles of his back rippling, a light sheen of sweat covering his golden skin, she thinks it looks just right. She is just starting to imagine what it might be like to touch that golden skin, run her fingers through the light moisture when she realizes what she's doing with a start.

You do not want to touch someone's _sweat_, she thinks sternly at herself, and you especially don't want to touch a student! She's no Sandy and there is no way she's losing the only job she's ever felt complete in. Besides, she isn't naive enough to think she'd ever be welcome to touch that skin.

Emma turns back to her book and forces herself to read and not look up until Noah says goodbye--"Ummhum bye" she mummers, pretending to be engrossed--and she hears his truck drive away.

She knows she's sweating, but decides to attribute it to the heat.

8.

Emma inquires casually when the next time the pool will be cleaned is. The building supervisor tells her that's only once every other month and Emma tries not to be visibly disappointed.

"Oh. Well, that's too bad, it was so nice having it clean..." she murmurs, and when she only gets a grunt in response she turns to leave. It is true, it _was_ nice to have a clean pool. After Noah had left, before anyone came back, Emma considered going in, just a bit, to wash off the sweat. She went up to her apartment and showered instead.

9.

As far as Emma is concerned, nothing has changed. When she passes Noah in the hall and he catches her eye, she gives a small smile like she would to any student. At Glee when he sings, she cheers just the same as she does for each and every member (even the Cheerios who she hasn't quite warmed up to).

If Emma has started going to the bathroom to apply her deodorant between every single class now, well, there's no one who notices.

She finds a book on her desk one day. Curious, she turns it over. The title stares up at her, almost like a dare, she thinks. Then Comes Seduction. She looks around but no one is in sight. Carefully, she opens the cover and begins to read.

At the first seduction attempt she becomes flustered and slams the book shut. What is the meaning of this, she wonders, blinking quickly and biting her lip to stop it's quivering. A known ladies man, seducing an innocent girl, not because he loves her, or even likes her, but for a _bet_. It's awful and she hates herself for thinking, even for a minute, how provocative the seduction was.

She wants it gone _now _but can't bring herself to throw it away in her office. What if someone saw it there? She slips the book into her bag to dispose of at home.

10.

When she's walking into school the next day she passes Noah. He excuses himself from his friends and jogs a little to catch up with her.

"Hey Miss P." He says with a friendly smile, looking only slightly nervous, "read any good books lately?"

Emma is stunned. How _dare_ he. She stops and turns to him, "Actually, Mr. Puckerman, I haven't." Even she is surprised at how cold her voice is--why can't she sound this mean with Sue?--but she continues anyway, "How about you? Made any good _wagers_, recently?"

She stares at him, unblinking, proud of herself for standing up to him. He looks shocked, and then disappointed. Not breaking eye contact with her, he gives a slow nod.

"Actually, I did recently take a gamble, but it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped." He holds her gaze for a moment as confusion wracks her--what does he _mean?_--and then starts to back away.

"It's too bad," he says, "about the book, I mean. I thought of you as someone who wouldn't judge it by its cover, but would care enough to read all the way through. Later, Miss P."

He walks away and Emma stands there, trembling, wondering where she went wrong.

11.

Emma has a number of rules to keep things in her life neat and clean. One of them is that anything, once thrown away, is trash. If it wasn't supposed to be she can buy another, but _nothing_ comes out.

She breaks the rules.

Even though she knows that she just changed the trash bags and that there is absolutely nothing in the bag besides that book, it takes all of her willpower to reach in and grab it. She sits there, holding the book, and then slowly opens it to where she left off and begins to read.

When she's done she sighs and puts the book down on her nightstand. She wonders if it would be silly to say it's about the transformative power of love. She wonders what she's doing.

12.

Emma has taken to going to all of the football games. Not just because Kurt joined the team, though she is proud of him. She knows it doesn't seem strange--everyone comes to the games now that they're winning so consistently, and in hopes of seeing a fantastic new dance number.

When they make it to the State Championship, Figgins is ecstatic. He springs for brand-new uniforms for the team.

Emma gets there early and sits in the front row. Will slides in next to her just before the games starts and she smiles at him. They're friends now, and for the first time that's the only feeling both of them have. It feels good.

Ken taught her a little about football and she's picked up a lot from going to all the games, but even with her limited knowledge she knows the game is close, really close. With twenty seconds left in the fourth quarter Puck scores the winning touchdown, and the crowd goes wild. Not content to just cheer, they rush the field, and Emma and Will are swept along with them.

Will goes with it, heading over to give Kurt a hug and Finn a slap on the back. Emma is standing nearby surrounded by a whirlwind of fans when she sees Noah. He meets her eyes kind of uncertainly and she smiles, a bright, open smile, holding nothing back. He rushes over to her, lifts her in the air and spins a little, his head thrown back laughing. He's all sweaty but Emma can't begin to care. She laughs along with him; his joy at that moment too contagious to resist.

When he puts her down she looks at him, really looks, for a moment, before remembering where they are. She steps back and keeps her hands to herself, but her smile is still genuine. "Congratulations, Noah." she says, and opens her mouth to say more when she meets Will's eyes over Noah's shoulder. Will is watching, head cocked, a curious expression on his face, and her eyes go wide.

"Well," she chirps, friendly but reserved, "you better go greet your fans!"

She turns quickly, and, seeing Kurt, grabs him and pulls him into an awkward hug. He's slightly sweaty and even with the new uniform she feels dirty in a way she hadn't before (logically she knows that Noah's uniform was much dirtier and sweatier than Kurt's but she is still uncomfortable).

"Good job, Kurt!" She says brightly. He smiles and thanks her before rushing over to Mercedes and Artie and she stands there, biting her lip, wondering who else she can talk to. Finn is nowhere to be found (she wonders fleetingly which girl is congratulating him) and most of the students around her wouldn't be caught dead talking to her outside of her office.

Still, she jumps when Will comes up behind her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, hi Will! That was something, wasn't it?"

He smiles at her, his eyes searching. She isn't sure what he's looking for but he seems to get his answer, because he stops and says, "Hey, Emma, would it be ok if I scheduled an appointment with you? I have some... personal stuff I want to talk through."

Will has moved back home and he and Terri are working on things. He's been coming to her often for advice, and she thinks it's silly that he still asks so formally. She knows that he just doesn't want to overstep or make her uncomfortable, and she's grateful for that, but hearing about their relationship doesn't bother her.

She agrees, and they set up a time the next day. Will excuses himself--"I have to get home, it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow!"--and leaves, and when Emma looks around the field has cleared and the stands are empty but for janitors cleaning up the trash.

She sees the team heading for their cars, no doubt going to some crazy after party with alcohol and fawning cheerios. Emma tells herself that they deserve it. She sighs and heads back to her empty apartment.

13.

Fifteen minutes until Will's appointment Friday morning and Emma is nervous. She can feel herself begin to sweat so she takes off her blazer and takes three deep breathes. She hasn't done anything wrong, she thinks. Will didn't see anything, not really. And even if he did, who is he to judge? She's not the one married to a crazy woman who faked a pregnancy and tried to buy a cheerleader's baby, only to be discovered when the youth minister who fathered the child made a fuss about it (his own wife was barren and they wanted the baby for themselves).

When Will strolls in with his usual friendly expression she starts to calm down. Clearly she was sweating over nothing. She lets him talk, mostly offering support because he hasn't asked for any advice yet and she's not sure what she's tell him anyway.

"I know that Terri isn't perfect. I mean, she messed up. She really messed up. But... no one is perfect, right? And people can change."

Emma nods. "That's very true, Will. People can change, and if you feel like she's willing to change herself enough to make you both happy this time, than I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Emma. You... you know I'd feel the same, right?" Emma doesn't know. Her confusion must show on her face because Will hurriedly continues. "I just mean, I hope that you find the same happiness that I have. I'm sorry things with Ken didn't work out but that doesn't mean there isn't someone out there who is just right for you. And, when you find him... give him a chance. You can't help who you fall in love with, and if Terri can change after all these years, anyone can."

He's staring at her very seriously and Emma's eyes are wide and her palms are sweating. "Wow, um, thank you, Will. I will keep that in mind." Will smiles and reaches for her hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "You do that."

Her hand is sweaty and she thinks his might be, too, and even though friendship and comfort is all well and good she thinks she might go crazy if she has to hold on for more than five seconds before using her hand sanitizer and she's counting in her head—three-one thousand, four-one thousand--when she hears a noise and she and Will look up and Noah Puckerman is standing in her doorway, book in hand, staring at their hands.

All of them freeze, for a second, before Emma pulls her hand away and starts to smile and ask what she can do for him. She barely starts before Noah cuts her off. "Sorry, I didn't realize," he says, dropping the book into the trash can next to the door, "Later Miss Pillsbury, Mr. Shue."

She stares at the trash can for a second--is she really going to have to… again? For him?

Will turns to her and says, "Well, that was uncomfortable for you, wasn't it?" Like a deer in the headlights, Emma pauses, before speaking quickly, "No, no why would you think that? Not uncomfortable, not uncomfortable at all. Ha ha."

Will looks at her strangely. "Emma, you aren't going to hurt my feelings. I know you weren't comfortable holding my hand."

"Oh." She says. "Oh, well, that's not about you. I just have this thing about sweat."

Will gives her friendly smile as he stands up and walk to her door, "I know. Oh, and Emma? When you meet someone who you can touch without even thinking about the sweat, don't let anything stand in the way." He slips out and leaves her sitting there, thinking.

14.

She has to put on gloves to fish the book out and read it (there was actual trash in this bin). Emma skips lunch and reads about a damaged boy with an absentee father and a learning disability that works hard to make something of himself but doesn't really believe he deserves love.

She knows it's wrong, but she pulls his file. The facts line up. A middle school counselor wrote that he thought Noah's violent outbursts stemmed from issues with his deadbeat dad. Looking back to elementary school, she finds the full explanation for his earlier explanation about his advanced age and her heart breaks. Like the character in the book, did he believe that his father left because he wasn't good enough? Because he wasn't perfect?

Emma knows she's the guidance counselor but even with Will's earlier advice, she still feels like she's in need of guidance.

She goes to Ken. They're still friends and he's always been one to tell it like it is, so she opens up, just a little. She tells him that there is someone in her life that she probably shouldn't have feelings for, that she believes those feelings are returned, that she's inadvertently hurt that person and that she thinks maybe the better thing--the right thing--to do is let what they never had die a swift death.

Ken studies her for a moment before saying "That's bullshit, Emma, and you know it. This ain't some big city full of men, and your not some big city girl. If you found someone here who you can love, and who is free to love you, you'd be crazy to give that up, and not in the I-clean-each-grape kind of way."

Emma nods, stunned. Ken's right. She doesn't have many options, and maybe that doesn't make this right, but what she's feeling does make it something she can't just give up on. She can heal Noah, she thinks, she can show him all the ways that he's perfect and show him that he isn't to blame for his father's terrible parenting. She thinks about that day at the pool--"Sometimes, cleaning... it gets a little lonely"--and wonders if he can't help heal her, too.

15.

Emma doesn't like to get things messy or cause a fuss, but she thinks this might be a worthy cause. It's 9pm on Friday when she bursts into the supervisor's office, hysterical about what is in the pool. She doesn't stop crying until he promises to have the pool cleaning company called right away--she stays while he makes the call--and he assures her that the pool will be clean by midnight.

Emma thanks him and leaves.

She waits inside her apartment, one eye watching the window, until 9:58 when she sees the truck pull up. She slips down to the pool area and sits in the dark, waiting. When Puck approaches the pool and starts to clean, Emma gets nervous. She takes deep breathes and tells herself there are some things important enough to sweat over.

Puck scoops the first item out of the pool and looks at it up close. "What the he--"

"It's a toy." Puck jumps. Emma continues, walking out of the shadows toward him. "Um, a dog toy."

Puck looks at her, and then a small smile spreads across his face. "You bought fake poop dog toys and planted them in the pool?"

"Yeah. Who knew they even made something like that."

"You could have called." He is standing in place, waiting for her.

She approaches, slowly. "I didn't have your number."

"You have my file." At this, Emma blushes, and Noah cocks his left eyebrow.

"I read it." She confesses, and he bites his lip. "But you didn't give me your cell number, and I would really like to put off explaining to your mom why your guidance counselor has taken such a...personal interest in her son."

"A personal interest, huh?"

She steps closer, only a hair's breath away from him. "Yes, quite personal."

Their eyes lock and their lips touch as his hand comes up and cups her face. It's slightly damp--whether from the pool or because he's nervous, too, she's not sure, but she doesn't care, pressing herself closer, deepening the kiss.

After a moment, they pull away, panting lightly. They stand like that, pressed together, his hand on her cheek, their foreheads touching, and then he says, "It's too bad that I have a job to do. The guy told me there was this crazy germaphobe and if I didn't have it clean asap, I'd lose my contract."

Emma steps back and bends down to pick up the handle of the pool skimmer and she can see his surprise--it takes effort to hold onto, not knowing where it's been, but she does.

"Let me help you," she says. He smiles. "Company'd be nice."

Noah wraps his arms around her and shows her how to use the skimmer, and takes the opportunity to explore her neck with his mouth. By the time they've finished cleaning the pool, they've both worked up a sweat. Emma's okay with it, though, she feels it proves her earlier assessment.

There are definitely some things worth sweating for.

-----

AN: Wow. I haven't written anything in years so this happening at all is quite a surprise. When I first started writing this is was mostly me trying to flesh out my favorite character. When it started to evolve I wasn't sure where it was going, and I have to say it was quite an adventure seeing where the characters took me!

I hope that you enjoyed it. Reviews are lovely (especially if you spot a mistake or typo!) but the best reward for me would be if you went off and wrote more Emma/Puck (or Puck/Rachel, because I kinda love them, too!) If you didn't see anything there before I hope you do now!

I have no definite plans to write more on this but these two have really inspired me, so there may be a continuation in Puck's POV.

Thanks for taking the time to read!


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